Antarctica

Antarctica has found atmosphere. "81:03" (FT29), etches their drifts through scopes of textured electronic tones, progressive arrangements of lush melody and dynamic harmonies, and the fervor of their live performance. After taking to the road for a national summer tour in 1998 in support of the "23:03" CDEP (FT25), the band secluded themselves for seven months of elaborating their musical reveries. Their departure from live performance melded with their immersion into the vast world of NYC electronic culture has provided a substantial piece of "81:03"'s backbone. Enlisting Alap Momin (Dalek, The Lapse) to engineer and produce their full-length was an incisive means for capturing their electronic wanderings as well as their intense rock prowess. "81:03" captures the essence of both of these worlds in 11 songs and over 80 minutes of music, as the title implies. The electronic quotient of the double album draws from both the swooning syncopated pop of New Order and the deep hypnotics of Underworld. Ripe with these elements and other organic beats and tones, "81:03" also displays fragments of Antarctica's indie heritage both in its driving presence and traditional pop structure. Shoegazing guitar glides, Bonham-esque drums, prodding bass and keyboard riffs, and refined harmonies help satiate the ambiance that Antarctica sets forth to create.